U.S. "PRECISION-GUIDED BOMBS" KILL 8 IN BASRA, IRAQ INCLUDING 2 WOMEN AND 1 CHILD

The Iraqi Army can't or won't handle the task of bringing order to Basra so the United States has had to call in U.S Air Force strikes on the second largest city in Iraq. Last September Gen. David Petraeus told the Washington Post the problem in Basra was an "Iraqi problem" and needs an "Iraqi solution." So much for that plan.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/29/us-airpower-deployed-in-basra/

UpdateMore from the AP:

In Basra, U.S. jets dropped two precision-guided bombs at midday Saturday on a suspected militia stronghold at Qarmat Ali north of the city, British military spokesman Maj. Tom Holloway said. "My understanding was that this was a building that had people who were shooting back at Iraqi ground forces," Holloway said. Iraqi police said that earlier in the day a U.S. warplane strafed a house and killed eight civilians, including two women and one child. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release the information.

Also:

U.S. airpower deployed in Basra.»
Time reports:
Despite having been initiated by the Iraqi government, the offensive by Iraqi security forces against militiamen in Basra is increasingly drawing in the United States, both militarily and politically. U.S. air power was used in the key port city for the first time on Thursday night in support of Iraqi forces trying to dislodge fighters of Moqtada Sadr’s Mahdi Army, and U.S. troops clashed with Mahdi Army militants in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City on Friday.

Despite this U.S. involvement, the Washington Post notes that in September, when lawmakers asked Gen. David Petraeus about the increasing violence amongst Shiite groups in Basra, Petraeus replied it was an “Iraqi problem” with an “Iraqi solution.”